Instincts: Your Key To Success

by Silvia Pencak
(PO Box 39540, 579A Lakeshore Rd. E., Mississauga, Ontario L5G 4S6)

We live in society that values education. Every year students spend more and more money, time and energy on getting good education hoping to get better jobs and make more money later in life. We believe that education is the path to riches. Recruiters look for people who are right fit for the job, who have the education and/or experience in certain position.

Yes, but…

A lot of people realize that there’s more to success than just knowing how to do the job. We hear a lot about personality, motivation, integrity. Suddenly we realize that sometimes we might KNOW how to do the work or tackle specific project, but do we WANT to do it?
But now, let me take you a step further…
Have you ever been in a situation where you knew HOW to do something, you even WANTED to do it (for whatever reason), but somehow you couldn’t get yourself to get it done? I know I’ve been there.


There can be many reasons. Let me give you couple examples…

procrastination – you might lack vision, goals and plan and get distracted along the way by doing something else instead of doing what you wanted

lack of integrity – even though you wanted to do it, your integrity might be out of place and you might feel more obligated toward your family or friends than a specific task

restrictions – somebody or something doesn’t allow you to use your skills, knowledge and do what’s necessary to get the job done
Today I want to take you beyond these well-known reasons and show you one key element that might be playing the role here. It’s our INSTINCTS.

When I talk about instincts, I talk about who we are in our core. How we take action and create. It’s our innate talent, our strengths.
Whenever you have a task in front of you, your instincts kick off and pull you in a certain direction. Whether you know it or not, they lead the way. They are the reason why some people jump into multiple projects at the same time, while others can’t get themselves into making a decision without having enough facts. They are the reason why some people enjoy conferences and meetings, while others think this is a waste of time and prefer to build or create tangible things.
You might not know this about yourself, but you too have instincts that make you take action in a certain way. Therefore instincts and success (the results you create) are connected.

But if you spent enough time around people who are different than you, you might feel like the way you’re taking action is completely wrong. You might have been pushing yourself to do things differently, while creating more and more stress in your life. Now you might be at a point where you no longer know who you are, but you know there’s a lot of stress in your life. Your instincts keep telling you to do it one way, but you’re crashing them down by using your learned behavior. You’re in a war with yourself.

It’s interesting to see that most successful people on our planet are not necessarily well educated. They might not even have great personalities. But all of them have one thing in common: they did it in their own unique way. They didn’t try to be like everybody else out there. They didn’t try to find the “right way” of doing things. They chose to take what they were good at, follow their dream while being themselves.
Let me ask you couple questions…

Do you really understand your instincts, the innate force that drives your action?

Is what you’re currently doing aligned with who you are, your talents and strengths?

Do you truly enjoy what you’re doing or do you experience stress when working towards your goals?

If you answered ‘No’ in any of the above questions, I’d love to talk with you. The solution might be easier than you think.